Louisiana Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Louisiana unemployment pays $35 to $282 a week for up to 12 weeks. Louisiana resets the maximum each January from its trust fund balance, so the 2027 range may differ. Enter your wages for the four quarters of your base period to estimate your weekly benefit, your maximum total benefit and which rule capped it.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Formulas and sources checked October 19, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Weekly benefit range (October 19, 2026)
$35 to $282
Effective January 1, 2026
Maximum weeks
12
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Taxable
Federal income tax applies in every state
Louisiana unemployment benefit calculator
Which months are my four quarters?
The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. The quarter you file in, and the one just before it, are left out. Enter the quarters in order, oldest first. Each quarter is three calendar months: January to March, April to June, July to September, October to December.
| If you file in | Your base period is |
|---|---|
| January to March 2026 | October 2024 to September 2025 |
| April to June 2026 | January to December 2025 |
| July to September 2026 | April 2025 to March 2026 |
| October to December 2026 | July 2025 to June 2026 |
Use gross wages (before taxes) from every covered job, in the quarter they were earned. If your wages are too low under this period, many states test an alternate base period made of the last four completed quarters.
Enter your wages above to see your Louisiana estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Louisiana?
Louisiana adds the wages from all four base period quarters, divides by four to get the average quarter, and divides that by 25. The result is rounded down to the whole dollar.
The weekly amount is at least $35 and at most $282 for 2026. Louisiana adds no allowance for dependents.
Louisiana uses the four quarters before the lag quarter: it skips the current quarter and the quarter before it. The booklet we read does not describe an alternate base period, so ask LWC if you recently started working.
Louisiana unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Louisiana also decides whether you lost your job through no fault of your own and whether you are able and available to work.
- At least $1,200 in total base period wages, and
- total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter. Example from LWC: a $3,000 high quarter needs $4,500.
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
Under Act 412 of 2024, claims filed from January 5, 2025 can get 12 to 20 weeks, depending on the average of the three most recent seasonally adjusted state unemployment rates. At the rates published through 2026 (about 4.2 to 4.5 percent) the maximum is 12 weeks, and the total is the weekly amount times those weeks. The number is fixed when you file your claim.
Working part time while collecting
You can earn a small amount without a reduction, and anything above it is subtracted dollar for dollar. The LWC booklet we could open says up to $50 or half your weekly amount, whichever is less, while a later version is reported to say half the weekly amount. Because the sources differ, this calculator does not estimate partial payments. Earning the same as or more than your weekly amount pays nothing for that week.
Are Louisiana unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. LWC says unemployment benefits are taxable and offers 10 percent federal withholding. Louisiana income tax starts from federal income, and the Department of Revenue treated 2020 benefits as part of Louisiana income apart from a one-time exclusion, so expect to report benefits on your state return too.
How to apply in Louisiana
File through HiRE at louisianaworks.net. You request benefits every week and have to search for work.
Louisiana Workforce Commission: Unemployment Insurance
When this changes: Louisiana resets the maximum each January 1 from the projected trust fund balance, and updates the 12 to 20 weeks from the unemployment rate (reported to move to January and July). The maximum weekly benefit and the wage base reset each January 1 from the Revenue Estimating Conference projection of the trust fund balance (R.S. 23:1474); check the 2027 figure. Weeks follow the three-month average unemployment rate (12 to 20), with updates reported to move to January and July in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Louisiana?
Regular Louisiana unemployment pays between $35 and $282 a week as of October 19, 2026. Louisiana resets the maximum each January from its trust fund balance, so the 2027 range may differ. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. Louisiana adds the wages from all four base period quarters, divides by four to get the average quarter, and divides that by 25. The result is rounded down to the whole dollar.
How is the Louisiana weekly benefit amount calculated?
Louisiana adds the wages from all four base period quarters, divides by four to get the average quarter, and divides that by 25. The result is rounded down to the whole dollar. The weekly amount is at least $35 and at most $282 for 2026. Louisiana adds no allowance for dependents.
How long can I collect unemployment in Louisiana?
Under Act 412 of 2024, claims filed from January 5, 2025 can get 12 to 20 weeks, depending on the average of the three most recent seasonally adjusted state unemployment rates. At the rates published through 2026 (about 4.2 to 4.5 percent) the maximum is 12 weeks, and the total is the weekly amount times those weeks. The number is fixed when you file your claim.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Louisiana?
LWC says unemployment benefits are taxable and offers 10 percent federal withholding. Louisiana income tax starts from federal income, and the Department of Revenue treated 2020 benefits as part of Louisiana income apart from a one-time exclusion, so expect to report benefits on your state return too.
Can I work part time and still get Louisiana unemployment?
You can earn a small amount without a reduction, and anything above it is subtracted dollar for dollar. The LWC booklet we could open says up to $50 or half your weekly amount, whichever is less, while a later version is reported to say half the weekly amount. Because the sources differ, this calculator does not estimate partial payments. Earning the same as or more than your weekly amount pays nothing for that week.
How many weeks of unemployment does Louisiana pay now?
For claims filed in 2026, 12 weeks. Louisiana cut its 26-week maximum to a range of 12 to 20 weeks for claims filed from January 5, 2025, based on the average of the three latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rates. Rates of 4.2 to 4.5 percent fall in the 12-week band, and your weeks stay fixed for the whole benefit year.
Sources for Louisiana
- La. R.S. 23:1592, Weekly benefit amount (archived copy)One twenty-fifth formula, $1,200, rounding down, $35 minimum
- La. R.S. 23:1474, trust fund procedures (archived copy)Yearly maximum by trust fund balance ($249, $275, $282, $312)
- LWC: Unemployment Insurance Benefit Rights Information (archived copy)$35 to $282, $1,200 and 1.5 times tests, partial rule, taxes, base period
- LWC: Maximum duration of weekly UI benefits memo (archived copy)12 to 20 weeks by unemployment rate under Act 412
- U.S. BLS: State employment and unemploymentSeasonally adjusted rate for the weeks band
- U.S. DOL, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026)Cross-check of minimum, maximum and weeks
Sources checked October 19, 2026.
Verification note: laworks.net and legis.la.gov refused direct requests, so the booklet (revision 05/2026), the duration memo and the statute pages come from Internet Archive copies. The statute page still prints an older $312 ceiling and a table of yearly maximums; we took $282 from procedure 3 of the table, the booklet and DOL July 2026, and could not confirm which procedure LWC has set for 2027. A later booklet revision is reported to change the partial-earnings wording, so we left partial payments out. The Louisiana tax statement comes from a 2021 Revenue Information Bulletin about the 2020 exclusion.